Whether people realize it or not, the local debut tonight of the group
Dog's Eye View is a chance for Ottawa to get reacquainted with
singer-songwriter Peter Stuart.
You may remember him as the acoustic troubadour who wandered onstage
as an unknown at concerts here by Counting Crows and Tori Amos ... and brought
the house down.
"I've had great shows there, so the expectations are a little high,"
says Stuart, who brings his band to Zaphod's tonight.
"So hopefully I won't be dashed against the rocks."
After making waves with his stellar solo performances, Stuart signed
with Columbia Records and opted to build a band around his songwriting.
"I just knew I wanted to do a record under a band name and have a
band T-shirt and things like that, instead of being a solo guy," says Stuart.
"The kind of vibe around solo performers is a little bit boring: 'Oh,
solo guy, we know what that is going to be about.' Whereas, as a band,
everybody is a little more involved and it is a little more collaborative
musical experience."
The group's debut album, Happy Nowhere, exploits that collaborative
vibe. It was recorded in a jury-rigged studio inside an old house in Woodstock,
N.Y. Cottonmouth was recorded on the side of a road. Waterline features
creaking floorboards and Small Wonders was recorded at 5 a.m. after an
all-night wine binge.
"Logistically, it is a little bit of a nightmare. The atmosphere is
so much better. I wanted to feel like we were just hanging out, playing music.
Which is what we did, essentially."
